A Lifetime of Illusive Peace

When I was a kid I must have been a disappointment to the grown-ups when they’d ask me:

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Well, tell me true: How did YOU answer that question when it was posed to you?

For my part, I was far too full of dreams and lofty imaginings to answer reasonably. In hindsight, I know that was not at all a drawback at the time. Nor was it something I ought to have been exercised of to be replaced with more sensible concerns like math lessons.

Which I never got.

So, when I would answer, I mimicked the popular professions of the day encouraged by good parents and families everywhere.

“I want to be a nurse.”

Yes! That particular Christmas I had gotten a Dr. Ben Casey doll, complete with a nurse doll to assist him. Vince Edwards was the to-sigh-for leading man on ABC’s prime time medical drama in the day.

Source: Wikipedia

I don’t know that I ever saw a full episode of the show – quite above the head of a little girl – but – I can say that I was delighted to have a male 11 1/2 fashion doll to visit Barbie and her friends.

Never got a Ken doll. Ever.

The reality of the situation was, ACTING the part of a nurse on TV did not include all the years of science and math studies that BEING a real nurse did. Science and math – which I had no gift for, nor interest in.

Nix the nurse idea. I would have to make a career elsewhere – let alone develop the concept of having a PURPOSE in my life.

Then, fascinated as I had always been by old things, history and the concept of ancient civilizations, I thought I would impress everyone with my new aspirations to be an ARCHEOLOGIST.

Setting my sights pretty high at age ten, I even did my 4-H Public Speaking Presentation on the topic that year. Took home a blue ribbon, too. I immersed myself in books about Pompeii and dinosaurs – even designing and creating a slew of “dinosaur cards” with various creatures sketched, colored and labeled. Surely, I was on my way to BEING an Archeologist!

Until the day – fatefully – the spider in the hallway sent me running to lock myself in the bathroom, frantically screaming for mother to “KILL IT!!!!”

Her words that day stung – and found a deep place to root in that literal little mind of mine . . . though, she never knew it:

“Kathryn, you can never be an Archeologist because you’ll have to deal with spiders and bugs all the time.”

Gah! Career dream busted by eight nasty hairy legs!

Of course I couldn’t BE an Archeologist! I don’t DO spiders!

Years passed. That question – “what do you want to be” – loomed larger and larger as I grew – older and older. Suddenly, high school graduation was upon me and I had yet to have any idea of what I wanted to be. Panic ensued – deep down I had no peace about where my life was going. College appeared to be the course of action – but, what on earth would I study! Multitudes of VOICES beckoned me to listen to their sage direction:

“I want to be a history major!”

“There’s no money in that.”

“I want to be an artist!”

“You’re good – but not that good.”

“I want to be an actress!”

“Time to grow up, Kathy . . .”

“I want to be a writer!”

“There’s an idea! Be a Journalism major and write for newspapers”

“I want to be a Creative Writer! I don’t do current events and political watchdog stuff and nonsense.”

Stuff and nonsense, indeed. *Sigh*

I settled for an Advertising major in the hopes that I could make clever and imaginative TV commercials one day. This, I hoped, would tie up my dramatic arts skills – I was always a natural – my creative writing and visual art giftings into one nice, neat, respectable and impressive career option – that had money making possibilities enough to satisfy the Sage Voices.

Grown-ups were pleased.

I was not.

You see, I was always rather honest – to a fault. So, when I had the audacity to point out to my advertising professor that the “bait and switch” advertising campaign was – well – lying . . .

Everyone laughed. I didn’t get the joke. But, I did get “IT”: I would never be clever enough to run with the big dogs on Madison Avenue if I had a shred of ethics.

In my emptiness and aloneness one night, as I lay sobbing myself to sleep – again – full of fear and anxiety about my future, I was painfully aware that I didn’t have an ounce of real PURPOSE. Not a clue as to who I was and what I wanted to BE . . . except . . .

“I just want to BE HAPPY!”

There. I said it. To God – I prayed it. To a God I had only known from afar through the dictates of religious tradition and ritual. But, for some reason, at the end of myself, I turned to the sloppiest prayer I’d ever prayed – straight from the heart . . . not a “thee” or “thou”in sight:

“Oh, God! I am miserable. I am so unhappy. I’m afraid. I don’t know who I am or what I’m supposed to do. I am lonely. All I want to do is to BE HAPPY. I don’t know how to BE HAPPY. But, if you created me, then you must know what will make me happy. Make me BE HAPPY, Lord – whatever it is that has to happen. Make me BE HAPPY.”

And . . . off to sleep I drifted that night. Sorta tingly. Oddly, at PEACE.

For the first time in my life, I prayed a prayer – and left it all at the feet of God. A God I still, as yet, did not know.

But, from that moment, I knew things were going to change. I had a strange expectancy about it. And, I wasn’t nearly as worried about “being” as I had been. I just went about “doing” what was before me to do. Within two months, God undeniably put all the pieces in place to move me onto my “Happy Path to Purpose & Peace” – leading directly to Him via the cross of Jesus Christ – within five years.

That was thirty years ago.

In the past three decades of finding my “Be Happy Place” in the Lord, I never looked back – but to learn from what was behind. The concept of just “being happy” matured into walking in JOY – a far more powerful by-product of a life hidden in Christ. JOY swells from within – HAPPY is a by-product of JOY. HAPPY is prone to instability, often affected by external elements. When HAPPY is not the flavor of the day, JOY must hold the fort – or it may be subject to ambush by the enemy!

As a young woman, I didn’t grasp this understanding. I grew into it as I grew in Christ. What I did realize then, though – instigating my sloppy prayer – was that there is a HUGE gulf between BEING and DOING. I thought of them as one – and confusion reigned.

You see – the question grown-ups really mean to ask when they want to know the career path that is of interest to a child is:

“What do you want to DO when you grow up?”

To confuse BEING with DOING is a gross injustice to our calling from God to Live asWorks of Art:

Created by God

Saved by Grace

To BE in Him – True Bliss; and THEN – Purpose . . .

To walk and DO the works He has already prepared for us to do = Joy = Happy.

The responsibility is NOT on me to know what the “doing” is all about until the “being” is in place.

Be JOYful in Christ. Do what grows naturally from being centered and cultivated in Him.

Leave the details at His feet. You’ll know what to DO when the time comes to do it, if you keep your focus – and your PEACE on the “Being” – in Him. It is in His “Happy Place” – the JOY of Being – that we can REST . . . in PEACE . . . and LISTEN . . .

God has it all under control. No worries.

Even for a young, confused, directionless girl, coming of age with the weight of CHOICES before her – He was my PEACE – though I did not know Him then, as I do . . .

TODAY. He IS my PEACE – in 2014.

No longer a silly teenager – but a mature woman who’s climbed some mountains and fought some battles, emerging with the jewels – and scars – to prove it. And, it is a battle – every day. Holding the JOY of the Lord captive in my heart as my strength. There are so many cares of this world that seek to topple the castle keep.

Even now, I sometimes find that “HAPPY PEACE” illusive when the “spiders” are storming the castle gates. I see all those nasty hairy legs flinging their weapons of DOUBT and DESPAIR at me, and I am MISERABLE. Feeling undone – confusion sets in and I don’t know what to DO – I only know what I want to BE in the simplest of terms. Suddenly, I am one with the young girl I once was, crying out in FEAR and ANXIETY to the Lord to just “make me be happy.”

In essence – Give Me PEACE!

This is a topic I will be snuggling close to in my quiet times this year. Perhaps now – more than ever – PEACE in our hearts, about every facet of our BEING and DOING, is wanted in light of such widespread world weary unrest. I have my list of “spiders” that need killing. Mom’s not here to kill them anymore. It’s up to me, now. And, thankfully, because of BEING in the LORD, I am more than equipped to kill them myself – slaying eight-legged nay-saying Voices by the power of His Word. There’s only ONE VOICE I need to LISTEN to . . .

Whose voice are you listening to?

BE JOYfilled.

BE Happy.

PEACE

His Grace is sufficient for every facet of all He’s called me to BE, and every detail and provision of what He’s created for me to DO.

Like this:

"I teach families how to restore their God-given authority as the primary educator in their child’s life through the experience of reading together as a family. Learn how to use literature to create teachable moments, build strong minds, and bind loving hearts."

Kathryn Ross, writer, speaker, and dramatist, ignites a love of literature and learning to equip young and old towards developing a Family Literacy Lifestyle—reading together, learning together, loving together. Her works challenge families to deepen their literacy skills and grow into the greater things God has purposed for them. She’s taught in Christian and homeschool circles, trained in the Principle Approach® through the Foundation for American Christian Education. Miss Kathy owns Pageant Wagon Publishing, producing homeschool enrichment materials, devotional works, study guides, and theatrical dramas for church, school, and community production. She podcasts at TheWritersReverie.com and blogs at PageantWagonPublishing.com.

Comments

Oh my friend…what a beautiful post today! I love it and love every word of it! God is so good to us isn’t He to give us a peace that Only He can give! He has been so faithful to me even when I was not faithful to Him! Thank you for this post! My heart has metled this morning. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

What great words, encouragement, and advice! (To be true, I never really knew what I wanted to do when I grew up – I was always too indecisive. 🙂 ) But isn’t it so true, to be where and doing what God wants is the happiest and best place to be. Much better than trying to be what someone else is or what I think I should be.

This is without a doubt my favorite piece you have EVER written! I loved every single part of it from the career searching stories at the beginning to the wisdom that glued it all together at the end.

For me, the answer has always been the same to the “What do you want to DO?” question. I wanted to teach and write. Today, I just want to teach and write different things than I did back then. My focus has utterly shifted, and the fact that it has is a wonder of God. The list of things I want to BE? That is longer . My biggest problem is that I have an enemy, and he lives in my ear.

I find it interesting that just before coming here this morning, I read Angel at “Finding the Inspiring”. If you don’t read there, I ask that you give it a quick visit. It’s on my sideboard. She has a very brief post up right now, and you will see exactly what I believe God is not just saying to me but practically “signing” to me as He is speaking.

Oh Kathryn ( I love meeting other Kathryns who spell their names correctly ) this post is amazing. I am sending it to some dear people I know needing to read these words. I especially love the words ” when happy is not the flavor of the day JOY must hold the fort”. Thank-you sister !

This was powerful writing, Kathy. Honest, vulnerable, and oh so inspiring. I have also experienced a lifetime of illusive peace. Always anxious. always fretting, always trying to be *good enough* – I’ve often just collapsed in despair.

This is one of the reasons that when God gave me the word JOY for this year, I looked at Him and said, “Seriously???”

I’ve been tested greatly. Less than a week into the new year, my father fell and hurt himself badly. And then, rather unexpectedly, he passed away last week. I have looked to God, and found that He finds a way to mysteriously infuse the spirit with HIS comfort, HIS peace, and yes, HIS joy, when you least expect it to be there.

I think His answer to my “Seriously???” has been a resounding, “Yes, seriously!!”

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I'm Kathryn Ross, an Enrichment Artist with a passion to bless and inspire others to a life more abundant and purposeful in all good things and beauty. I share such treasures through the power of dramatized storytelling, blogging at The Writer's Reverie, publishing my works through Pageant Wagon Publishing, hosting teatime hospitality retreats, and exploring handcrafted creative arts through Cameo Impressions at Etsy. My love of God and Biblical values also permeates the original literature and history programming I write and perform for varied audiences as Pageant Wagon Productions LLC. Blogging has been a way for me to explore my craft and connect with kindred spirits where a constant stream of inspiration enriches me - so I can be an enrichment in the lives of others!

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A good story
Is a creative compass
Pointing my imagination
In glorious directions.
I set sail on a raft
Of rhymes and reasons
That plumb the depths
Of man's heart,
And rise up on waves
Of virtue triumphant,
Where I can see a fixed mark
On the horizon.
It is there that I know
To set my rudder and my sails,
Sure to the breeze,
In the hope of docking safely
On the shoreline
Of a firm foundation
For life and living.